The Truth About Internships
by Toranina
Summary: Amelia Vaughn hires on to Targent fresh out of school, not really knowing what she is gettin herself into. Her friend Desmond Sycamore, and a mysterious man called Descole help her see the truth.
1. Chapter 1

"Amelia Marie Vaughn. Graduate of the University of British Columbia. Major in linguistics, minor in anthropological archaeology. Age 23."

"Citizenship?"

"Canadian and British."

"Language proficiency?"

"English, French, German, Latin."

She twisted a little in her seat as the interviewer paused. "It says here that you have won awards in karate?"

She smiled. "Yes, I went to nationals in the last competition I entered. I am a black belt. Second degree."

"Do you have any other self defence skills?"

"I suppose. I've trained in kendo, and defence against knives. Archery as well, if that counts."

"What makes you seek this position?"

"I love travel, and I am proficient in multiple languages, as well as being comfortable with ancient artifacts. I think working here would satisfy all of my interests."

"Well, Ms. Vaughn, you seem to fit the requirements for this position. We will be in contact with you shortly."

Amelia left the building, letting herself finally relax. She almost simply collapsed on the street outside the offices. She was not very skilled at keeping her personality in check. Job interviews were not the sort of place to let her endless energy fly.

It had gone well though. They had said that she seemed to fit. She grinned, and twirled on the sidewalk. She might have landed the perfect job. The energy gained from her success propelled her down the street towards the underground. A few of the other pedestrians looked at her funny, but she didn't care. She was happy.

She went out to celebrate that night with some of the friends she had made in the last couple months. After moving back to Britain from Canada in June, she was finally starting to make friends, and now she might even have found a decent job (really, anything would be better than working at a department store). She may have had a bit more liquor than she should have, but she made it back to her flat alright, even if her drunk brain kept telling her that someone was tailing her. There was no reason for anyone to do that.

She spent the next day working, and hoping that she would have a call when she returned home. She didn't.

The day after that was spent writing, and studying her latest cultural obsession, the Azran. Their language was fascinating, and she really wanted to understand it. Maybe her next book could be set in times when the Azran ruled.

It was the third day after her interview when they finally called. She had been working on deciphering the Azran on the Wall of Norwell. Maybe it was too soon to attempt to solve the wall on the second day of studying the Azran, but hey, it was worth a shot.

When the phone rang, she had nearly spilt her ink bottle on her notes in her scramble to answer the phone. "You've reached Amelia Vaughn."

"Ah, Ms. Vaughn. We are glad to tell you that you have been selected to fill the position of general intern at Targent. Welcome to the team."

She could barely contain her squeal of joy. "Thank you very much. You haven't made a mistake. When do you want me to start?" Was she too excited? She hoped she wouldn't scare off her job.

"Would August 24 work for you?"

"Yes, definitely." She makes her colander with a big red exclamation mark on two Thursdays from now.

"Very well then. A car will pick you up at 10am. See you then."

Amelia danced around the room. A job. She had a job. An awesome job. Job job job job job. She finally let loose the squeal she had been containing. Tomorrow she was handing in her notice at the department store.


	2. Chapter 2

On the twenty third of August, at 10:30 am, Amelia Vaughn was in a car on the way to her new job. Maybe it was a bit weird that she had been told the location they were heading to was top secret. Maybe it was strange that the car had windows so tinted that she could not see out. Maybe this was not how most internships were supposed to go.

She was starting to drift off when the car pulled to a stop. Her door was opened, and she stepped out into what looked like a military base. A strange place for an archeology internship, but she was getting the feeling this was no ordinary job.

She was hustled into a building, and into an office. She sat at one side of a table, opposite from a scary looking man. He pushed a uniform across the table. "Change, and meet me in the courtyard in 20."

She was ushered into a washroom, and changed into her uniform. It got perfectly, which was kind of weird as no one had ever asked her size. This whole thing was kind of weird.

There were three people in the courtyard when she walked into it. The scary man from before was there, with two other men who looked just as new and unsure as she felt. They all turned to face her at the sound of her feet against the stone.

"Vaughn." She saluted at the commanding voice of the scary man. "You have a background in fighting, do you not?" She nodded. "Very well then." So quickly that she almost missed it, a wooden stick was flying towards her. Catching it reflexively, she turned towards the man, startled. This was definitely not the sort of thing she had expected.

"Humph. I see you aren't just talk. Bring the stick and follow me." He led them across the courtyard to some dummies and targets. He gestured to a crate with an assortment of weapons, both practice and real. The scary man was glaring at her, so she pulled out a bow and a set of throwing knives, the only things in the box that she had ever used before. She gazed, questioning, at the man, until he snapped at her.

"Go." He waved towards the target. "Impress me." She shakily grabbed the bow and an arrow, raising it towards the target. Twang, thwack. Not a bulls-eye, but pretty good for how much she was shaking. "I told you to impress me. Continue until you do." He glared at her, and she took a deep breath. Twang, thwack. Closer this time, followed quickly be three more, closing in on the target until the next two clustered together in the centre.

"Next." The man nodded to the knives, and Amelia set the bow aside. She knew how to use a bow. She'd done it or years. The throwing knives she's only used a half dozen times or so. This would be interesting. She picked out one of the knives and tried to remember the stance. She could feel the gazes of all three men on her. One judging, two curious. She took a deep breath and threw the knife. It hit the very edge of the target. Not even close. She tried four more times, and only succeeded in making it to the very outside ring. She picked up the last knife, and heard the scary man shift behind her. She wanted to not die. She wanted him to go away. She focused on the target, imagining throwing the knife at the scary man. He would go away then. She threw.

Thwack. She had closed her eyes as soon as the metal had left her hand. She cracked one eye open, cautious from the heavy silence. Bulls-eye. She squealed. Full on. High pitched. And then, forgetting why she was even throwing knives in the first place, she did a victory lap of the courtyard.

Her celebration stopped short when she locked eyes with the scary man. She promptly tipped backwards onto her rear. He slowly walked towards her, and she ended up almost lying on the courtyard ground to look up at him. "Passable, Vaughn."

He immediately turned his attention to the other two men, and Amelia watched from her position on the ground, dazed. Bishop was not too bad, but Rook had the incredible ability to hit everything except what he was aiming for.

She remained on the ground until a woman in heels kicked her lightly in the side. "Time to come inside Ms. Vaughn. Your day is not yet done." Amelia slowly stood up and trailed behind the woman as she led them through the building. They stopped suddenly and she almost collided with the woman as she opened a door. They stepped into a room filled to bursting with clothes. "Show me what you can do." Amelia looked at her, confused. "The clothes. Disguise yourself." This just served to confuse her further. Not much she could do though. She grabbed a wig, a hat, a long coat, and heels. As soon as she looked in the mirror, she could tell that she had failed. Her disguise was almost as bad as the cartoon detective and his moustache. The lady sniffed, and shoved her out of the room.

The sound of the door slamming echoed after her, and she stood in The middle of the hall like a lost puppy. This was not a normal internship.

Merely a minute after her hallway introspection, another person ushered her into another room. Amelia was asked to find the fakes out of an assortment of Azran artifacts. This at least, at last, was what she had come here for.


End file.
